Debates of Feb. 24th, 2026

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I would say that's not a new risk for the NWT at all. It's definitely a risk that this government and this territory has been addressing since -- you can go back and find documents from 2003 that say, hey, our entire GDP is now coming from pretty much diamond mines, and we need to plan for the next piece so we don't end up in a constant boom and bust cycle, which is what we went from gold. We had a massive bust, and then we went to diamonds, and we have still not diversified our GDP. So this is absolutely a risk that continues within the Northwest Territories, but our controls do lie within how we ensure that we are supporting industry, supporting diversification of our GDP, how we, you know, are doing things like reviewing our royalties, how we collect royalties, how we are reviewing our Mineral Resources Act. And so that is all information that is captured within the business plan already.

And to the Member's question about, you know, is ITI responsible for economy, I would say that this Cabinet has invested a tremendous amount in our economy but that our investments have found their way into places like health care investment and housing investment. And I know the Member and I have had conversations to quite a large extent about how we capture that as a government, and that is something that I'd still like to pursue because saying that, you know, our economy is isolated to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is absolutely not true, nor should it be, and making sure that we have a diversified GDP means that we have to look at this from an all-of-NWT perspective and therefore an all-of-government perspective. Thank you.

I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. I think, yeah, I mean, if I could communicate back what I am feeling when I review our business plan and particularly ITI's consideration of risk, I mean, I think that risks to the NWT economy have increased significantly in the past few years, or at least become more acute, and some significant changes occurred that were unexpected. I agree with the Minister's point that, you know, we knew that the diamond mine closures were coming. I've made lots of statements about that, and I think lots of Members have noted it. However, there have been some changes to diamond markets over the past few years that have significantly accelerated the problem. And so I think when I look to risk mitigation, particularly with the Department of ITI, I think that that acceleration is something that should be acknowledged, and I think people in the NWT would take probably a fair bit of comfort knowing that the government is pulling out all the stops, is recognizing the increased risk that changes in the diamond market have created for our economy and are looking to this department, and the GNWT as a whole, to respond to those risks and challenges.

So it's just a piece of feedback in terms of seeing that in the business plan, and that piece missing there feels to me like an oversight. I know that the -- I mean, I do want to pause here and just note that the general public probably doesn't read the business plans generally. I certainly didn't when I was a member of the public. But I want to be clear that what goes into the business plans and what comes out of the business plans does matter to the public. And so, yeah, I guess I am just making a point here, but I am curious to hear the Minister's feedback on that. Thanks.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I definitely appreciate the Member's point. All that to say that while that page specifically has not been used to capture the extent of risks as far as economy is concerned, I am happy to take away the Member's feedback and to kind of have a conversation around the department about -- or sorry, have a conversation with the department around how we're interpreting what needs to land on that page. So I can definitely take that away and revisit as well kind of how other departments are using it to make sure that there is alignment between each of them and bring that back. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And just to kind of close out my comments on the risk that don't relate to economic development and diversification, which I will ask in a later page, I would just note that I think taking a risk-based approach to our economic planning and response may be a change that we could look into. I think, you know, as risk increases or as the greatest risk that we're facing, I just think it would be helpful to look at it in that sense and think about mitigations that we could be putting in place and think about changes that could be -- because it's very easy to get locked into, we've got these programs, these are what we're delivering, yeah, the economy is facing some major challenges, but we're working our way at it. I think it's helpful to revisit things that we're doing, to consider whether we're doing enough or whether we're doing the right things, and so thinking of it in the sense of risk mitigation may be helpful. Just putting a plug in for that.

The next one I wanted to get to in this section just -- because it's not very clear to me in the department summaries where this actually lands, is the work that's being done to grow and enhance the northern workforce, the various skill development and employment transition efforts that are going on. Maybe the Minister, first could, just clarify where that takes place because it's not clear that it's in ECDEV and diversification or where it lands. Thanks.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it is because a lot of that work happens over in ECE. So same Minister, different hat. Thank you.

Thank you. I will go back to the Member from Frame Lake.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, I only ask because there's a number of targets in the business plan -- under ITI's business plan that I wanted to ask about. So maybe I will just start asking, and maybe this is the right section.

So I noticed that a number of the measures and targets that we have are related to northern employment, percentage of northern employment. I will just pick one project. The Giant project is below the target that the department has set. I am just wondering what is being done, generally, to increase northern employment percentages in the existing projects that we have like Giant considering the significant workforce changes that may be coming with the result of early diamond mine closures. Thank you.

Thank you. I will go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And, Mr. Chair, very happy to chat about these type of metrics which definitely expand over both departments.

So within the Giant Mine remediation project, I want to first acknowledge what the Member is talking about here which is that the employment numbers are lower than expected but the procurement numbers are looking good. So what we are seeing is that a lot of our northern employers are having to source additional staff and additional resources from outside of the NWT. This is something that I've had the opportunity to have conversations with different employers from Giant Mine about, and one of the things they have assured me is that last year's numbers will look better than the previous years, and those just still need to be reported on. Many of those employers have, they themselves, taken on different on-the-job training programs and have also made sure that they're essentially working hard to get those numbers up.

One of the things that is going to, good or bad, work in a little bit of our favour is being able to repurpose some of the staffing from the diamond mines. But one of the things that really does impact this is a lot of the work that happens out at Giant Mine is seasonal, and seasonal is very hard for people to make do with in the North and so it means that it either doesn't work for everybody, because they've got full-time employment, or you're having to kind of stack different jobs and positions. And so one of the things there is how can we support employers to bring together some of those different opportunities and knowing what those opportunities are. So, for example, within there, making sure that we are, again, working with different proponents of different projects that are happening in the territory, making sure that they are connected in with different companies that are doing some of this work, but then also making sure that we are working, for example, with the federal government that is doing some of this procurement and explaining to them that northern businesses need longer lead time to make sure that they are ready and that they are properly resourced in order to take on some of these opportunities. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Next on my list I got is the Member from Great Slave.

No, Mr. Chair, I don't have anything further at this moment.

Thank you. Is there any questions from Members? I will go back to the Member for Frame Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will try to be brief. I just want to kind of finish up the conversation that I was having with the Minister here. And can the Minister just -- considering that the growing and enhancing the northern workforce by investing in skill development, that there's a number of pages in the business plan -- in ITI's business plan that speak to this, recognizing that skill development and workforce tends to be an ECE thing.

Can the Minister just help us better understand what the Department of ITI is responsible for regarding all these metrics and measures that they have in the business plan related to workforce growth and transition? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister..

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, certainly workforce development and training doesn't happen in a vacuum and a lot of the training opportunities that we see in the Northwest Territories really do rely on partnerships with industry in order to do them. We're seeing a lot of, you know, need for trades. That requires a partnership with an employer. We're seeing a lot of need for on-the-job opportunities where people can still put food on the table, make a living, not have to leave an employer they may have been with for a long period of time and still be able to fill a new role and evolve with their business. And this is incredibly relevant when we're talking about evolutions of businesses that have traditionally served diamond mines.

We work quite closely with education, culture and employment, with health and social services, and with industry as well. And a lot of what we're seeing for asks, especially in regional centres, is for mentorships and for relationships with somebody who has established and kind of gone through the hours and the labour of love to figure out what works and what doesn't work for them or what works in a region, and being able to pair up with somebody who wants to start afresh. So there's definitely a synergy there between departments but ITI definitely has to be at the table given the relationship with the workforce and also making sure that ITI and ECE and Prosper NWT are working together to also understand what industry is saying they need. So it's important that that training also doesn't happen in a vacuum.

And through yourself, Mr. Chair, I'd like to see if the deputy minister has anything that she would like to add.

Thank you. I will go to the deputy minister.

Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. And the Minister in response on Giant, you know, I don't want to just focus on that project but, I mean, it's a project that is going to be ongoing for a while. There's also talk of airport development and military investment. What I am wondering is what is the department actually doing to ensure -- to address the issues with these new kinds of development that are going to be -- that are where our employment numbers aren't being met and yet we have the risk that we're facing of losing employment through the diamond mines, what is the department doing to try and mitigate that risk and work with projects like Giant, work with DND, whoever is building projects in the NWT, to try and structure the contracts in ways, structure the work in ways that respond to people's needs for employment so that we are not as reliant on southern employment to get these projects done? Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.